It Started with the Hook Man
by SPNxBookworm
Summary: After the encounter with the Hook man (S01E07), Sam's shoulder is injured. But it doesn't heal. Dean is worried and soon they find out why it doesn't heal. Thus Sam is forced to relive an experience of his past. Features Worried and mother-henning Dean, hurt Sam and a little of Bobby later on. (Summary explanation inside.) Prompt by hotshow.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: This fic is requested by hotshow. It's an intriguing idea. Basically, you all will find out why Sam is ill/hurt with a relation to a flashback at Sam's Stanford years. Expect some angst and mother-henning. Especially on Dean's part. **

**hotshow, I'm so sorry for the delay in getting this up. Hope you like this. **

**ENJOY!**

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_Come on Dean. Quick!_

Sam loaded the rifle with rock salt and shot at the Hookman's spirit again, Lori standing behind him. His shoulder ached like hell. He couldn't wait to see this thing burst into flames. Suddenly, the Hookman appeared right in front of him and knocked the rifle out of his hand.

Sam clutched his shoulder as the movement jarred his arm. He and Lori crawled into a corner and Sam shielded her as the Hookman made to attack. Suddenly, he burst into flames, his hook melting into nothing.

* * *

Sam and Dean were now in the Impala, having said goodbye to Lori.

"You know she liked you right?" Dean teased. Sam didn't answer and Dean knew he was getting the bitch face.

"Hey, I'm just saying. She looked pretty put out." said Dean.

"Let it go Dean." Sam said, sighing. His shoulder was throbbing in pain. He gritted his teeth, trying not to cry out.

Dean didn't miss the way his brother was holding his arm. He even saw Sam's face pale a little. "You okay Sammy?"

"Yeah. Fine. Just drive." said Sam. Dean didn't believe him, but decided to drop the matter. He'd deal with it later.

Soon, they were parked in front of their motel room. Dean got out of the car and walked towards the room. He heard a muffled thump behind him. He turned around to see Sam sprawled on the ground near the car. Fear ripped through him.

"Sam! Sammy? Hey..you okay?" Dean said, running over to his brother.

"I think. Felt dizzy. I'll be fine. Just need to sleep it off." said Sam, accepting his brother's help to get up.

"Sam-" Dean complained.

"Let it go Dean. I'm fine." said Sam. He walked towards the motel room, clutching his arm. He hoped the pain would subside. Otherwise, he'd be sprawled on the bathroom floor puking his guts out. Dean stood near the Impala for a few seconds, watching his brother's unsteady steps as he made his way to the room. He sighed. Sam was just as stubborn as ever. He followed close behind in such a way that he'd be able to catch Sam if he fell. This was in no way over. Sam would talk one way or another.

* * *

The next morning, Sam woke up to a throbbing shoulder yet again. _Guess the aspirin didn't work._ Sam gingerly sat up on his bedside. As he went to get to his feet, his stomach lurched. He bolted towards the bathroom and threw himself at the toilet seat. And not a second too late, last nights dinner was gone.

Dean woke up as he heard fast footsteps beating against the floor.

"Sam?" He mumbled. Getting no answer, his big brother senses lit up. He looked over to the other bed to see the blanket trailing on to the floor. The bed was empty. Dean got up, worried.

"Sam?" He yelled. He heard a groan from the bathroom.

"Sammy..." he sighed when he spotted his brother slumped against the toilet seat, dry retching. He walked over and sat on the edge of the tub, massaging his brother's back to try and ease the tension. He frowned when Sam's back felt hot.

"Hey, look at me." Dean said, walking over to Sam's side. He knelt down and touched his brother's forehead.

"Shit Sam! You're burning up." Dean said, withdrawing his hand. Dean waited patiently till the retching stopped and then helped Sam into his bed and handed him some painkillers.

Sam gratefully took them and gulped them down with water.

"Let me check your shoulder. I swear, the doctors know nothing. And no bitch face Sam. This is serious." Dean said sternly.

Sam faltered under Dean's gaze and let Dean check his wound. Helping Sam out of his sweaty shirt, Dean carefully removed the bandages to see the wound. It clearly looked infected. That was weird. It usually took a few days for an infection to set in.

"What the hell?" Dean said, looking confused.

"What's wrong?" Sam croaked.

"Your wound's infected. How is that possible?"

"I-" Sam started. Suddenly, he slumped against the head rest and his eyes closed.

Dean panicked. What the hell just happened? "Sam? Sam! Come on kiddo, wake up! Sammy!" Dean yelled. He shook his brother, patted him on the cheek. He even tried to revive him by sprinkling water on his face. The only response he got was a low mumble and a moan of pain.

"That's it. You need the hospital." Dean said. He hauled Sam into a fireman's lift, nearly falling under the weight of his brother. But he ignored it. When it came to Sam, he'd endure anything. He unlocked the motel room door, grabbed his jacket and car keys and headed out in his pajamas. He didn't care what he was wearing. As he deposited Sam in the passenger seat, only one thought was on his mind.

_Sam._

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**Well? I know this chapter is not much. The story is just getting started. Hope you all grow to like this. Do leave reviews and let me know what you think of it. :) hotshow, hope I lived up to your expectations! Sorry for the really short chapter. I kind of wanted it to end at this point. If you spot any errors, let me know. **


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: ****Sorry for the long wait guys! Hopefully I made up for it. Thank you all for your support on my sis fic and "The Little Winchesters." I can't believe you all like it so much! I really appreciate all the support. **

**A big thank you to mandancie, murphy9202, ispiltthemilk, mdavidson0421, judyann, missingmikey, AshleyMarie84, hotshow, gopottergo11, jensensgirl3, ElizaT and Priya723 for your amazing reviews on the first chapter. :) You all really made my day! **

**The medical information I got mostly from Wikipedia. So sorry if I messed up somewhere.**

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Dean broke almost every traffic rule in the book to get to the hospital. Sam was clutching onto Dean's jacket which he was using as a blanket at the moment. He was shivering even though he still had his shirt on and his face looked flushed. Dean could hear Sam taking in rapid breaths of air. The kid was hyperventilating.

"Hang on kiddo, almost there." Dean murmured.

Dean finally spotted the hospital and tore through the parking lot, slamming his car to a stop right at the entrance.

"HELP! PLEASE!" he yelled towards the entrance as he ran to the passenger side door and helped Sam out. As he turned around, he saw half a dozen nurses and ward boys walking towards them with a stretcher. Dean helped them lay Sam down onto it and ran with them into the hospital.

"De'n.." Sam mumbled, dazed and nearly unconscious.

"Right here Sammy. You'll be okay! You'll be just fine." Dean said. He made to follow the nurses into the Emergency room but was stopped by the nurse in charge.

"Mr.." she asked.

"Dean. Dean Wi...Willis." Dean said, almost blurting out Winchester. "That's my brother Sam. Please, let me go with him." Dean said, trying to push past her.

"I'm sorry Dean but I can't. Hospital rules. Don't worry. Sam is it? Okay, he'll be just fine. I'll get a report to you as soon as I can about his condition. How about you fill out the forms needed and I'll show you the waiting room?" she said gently, trying to calm down the agitated and obviously very worried man.

Dean ran a hand over his face. Arguing with hospital staff wouldn't get Sam back. He nodded dejectedly, following the nurse to the reception table.

* * *

Dean now sat in the waiting room, wringing his hands, trying to calm himself down. They were still looking for Dad. Dean was going mad trying to decide whether to call him or not. The nurse, Ms. Penny, had told him that she'd be back soon with an update. Dean didn't chance going back to the motel to change. He'd do that once he was sure Sam was going to be okay.

He removed his phone from his jacket, which had been brought back to him by one of the ward boys. He flipped it over and over in his hand, having an internal debate. Finally he thought, _what the hell, _and dialed his father's number.

Dean's face turned into a grimace as he heard the familiar voice at the other end indicating it had gone to voice mail. "Dad. I don't know where you are. But if you get this, please call me back. It's about Sam. He's...he's hurt Dad. We're in a hospital. Call me back. Please." Dean whispered the last word, emotion draining out of him. He flicked the phone shut, tossing it onto the jacket beside him. He ran his hands over his face, pressing his palms into his eyes so that he saw stars bursting.

"Please be okay Sam..." he whispered. He remembered all too well situations like this. This wasn't the first time either one of them had ended up unexpectedly in the hospital. Sam more than Dean.

"Um, family of Sam Willis?" came a voice from the doorway. Dean immediately looked up to see the nurse, Penny, standing in the doorway, hesitating on intruding an emotional moment.

Dean cleared his throat and nodded. He didn't have the strength to get up. He felt that he was fine in the chair incase it was bad news. It wouldn't be bad news...but still. Just in case. She walked over to Dean and sat down opposite him. He gave her a pleading glance.

_Please tell me he's okay._

Penny smiled. "He's stable for now." Dean's stomach unknotted a tiny bit.

"For now?" Dean asked.

"Yes. It appears he went into sepsis because of the infection in his shoulder wound. That's a pretty nasty wound by the way. The infection was caused by a bacterium called polysaccharide encapsulated bacteria. The thing is, this bacterium doesn't necessarily cause such a severe reaction to a person who has a well built immune system. We still haven't figured out why your brother got the infection so quick like you mentioned while filling out the form. We've done a couple of tests and are waiting for the results."

"Usually, the doctor would be telling you all this, but she had to leave for an emergency surgery. So, um, would you like to see him?" Penny asked.

Dean's heart filled with every word. The bacteria thing Penny had mentioned did seem fishy, but he'd worry about that later. Sam was fine. And stable for now. He tried not to focus on the 'for now.' He eagerly got to his feet.

"Yes. Please. Take me to him."

Dean followed Penny up to the second floor where Sam had been put up. They walked down a long hallway, coming to a halt at almost the end. Dean glanced up at the room number. 2583. Dean smiled slightly. 2nd of May, '83. Sam's birthday. That was ironic.

"I should tell you. Your brother's a fighter. And he's breathing on his own too. So I'm pretty confident it's not too serious. Don't worry about a thing. We'll find out what's wrong with him. Also, he should be awake in a few hours. Once he's awake, just press the buzzer next to his bed and one of us will come over to do a check up." Penny said.

Dean smiled at her warmly. Sam was definitely a fighter. And if he was breathing on his own then it was a good sign. Dean slowly opened the door and walked into the room. Sam was lying on the bed, an I.V. drip attached to one of his hands while the other lay across his stomach. Sam looked peaceful and asleep. Penny nodded and walked out after checking Sam's vitals.

Dean pulled up one of the uncomfortable hospital chairs in the room and deposited himself in that. He glanced up at his baby brother who lay fast asleep due to the meds. Dean could see the bulge of bandages on Sam's shoulder through the hospital gown.

"I'm right here Sam. You'll be okay. Doc said you'll be fine. Just some minor infection. I bet you'd know what it was with the geeky brain of yours." Dean chuckled to himself. He sighed. He just wished Sam would open his eyes. But Penny had said he'd be awake soon.

"I'll wait Sam. I'll wait. You get some rest." Dean mumbled. He felt exhausted after the day's ordeal. A little nap wouldn't hurt. He laid his hand on the bed next to Sam's and using it for a support, fell fast asleep.

**TBC**

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**Well? I know I didn't reveal WHY Sam's in this state. I promise to do so next chapter! Stay tuned! Do leave reviews! :) **


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Sorry for the really long wait guys. I went through a bad case of writers block with this chapter. I just couldn't get it to work. A big thank you to hotshow for helping me out with this. After all, it was her that requested this story! :D **

**Hope you all like this! I want to thank mandancie, reannablue, ispiltthemilk, murphy9202, AshleyMarie84, gopottergo11, Dorianimeyaoilover, hotshow, ElizaT, twomoms and Jenmm31 for the awesome reviews on the last chapter! :D :)**

**And a big thank you to all the favoriters and followers! You all make my day! :D**

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"Sam?...with me bud...-mmy?"

Sam could hear someone calling out to him. He vaguely recognized the voice. Who was it?

"Sam? Come on kiddo. Open your eyes for me. Please." came the voice again.

Sam frowned inwardly. It was laced with concern and a hint of panic too. He knew that voice anywhere. Dean. He struggled to climb out of his haze filled situation. _Damn eyes. Open already! _With what seemed like a huge amount of struggle, Sam blinked open his eyes to see Dean's face barely a few inches away from his.

Dean's eyes flooded with relief as he saw his baby brother finally look at him. "Thank God." he muttered. He brushed a hand through Sam's hair. Sam stared at him like he'd gone crazy. Because according to Sam, Dean never indulged in a chick-flick moment.

"Shut up." Dean muttered again, recognizing the look on Sam's face. He felt his heart flood with happiness at Sam's chuckle.

Sam winced a little at the movement. "Ow." he said audibly, instinctively reaching a hand out to his shoulder. Dean immediately stopped the progress, giving Sam a stern look.

"You don't say Sam. And no touching."

Sam rubbed his face with his good hand. "What happened?" he asked in a gruff voice. Dean immediately took the glass of water from the bed side and held it while Sam sipped the water.

"Better? Alright. What do you remember?" asked Dean.

Sam frowned for a minute. "Um, I remember you freaking out about my shoulder and then all went black. The next thing I know, I'm waking up with your face in mine."

"Ok. You scared me there though. Don't you dare do that again." Dean said, sighing and rubbing his face.

Sam looked at his brother. Dean looked like he'd been through a lot. There were circles forming under his eyes and the rims looked red like he'd been crying. "Was it...bad?" Sam asked hesitantly.

"Kind of. You were out for 3 and a half days. It's Thursday. And you'd passed out on Monday morning. I gotta say though, the nurses here are smokin'"

Sam rolled his eyes. Dean was trying to avoid the subject. "Please Dean. What happened?" He looked at Dean with his puppy eyes.

Dean sighed. "I so regret teaching you that look. Um, the nurse, Penny, said you'd gone into sepsis because of the infection in your shoulder. They managed to get it down, but they still haven't figured out why the wound got infected so quickly in the first place. Said it was because of a bacterium or something."

"Polysaccharide encapsulated bacteria?" Sam blurted out. _Shit. _He cursed himself.

Dean narrowed his eyes at Sam. "Yeah actually. How did you know that?"

Sam ran a hand through his hair. "Um, a guess. I read a couple medical books at Stanford too so I know. They're, uh, infection causing bacteria." Sam lied, hoping Dean would buy it.

Dean didn't think Sam was telling the truth. The way the kid was running his hand through his hair, stumbling over his sentences...He knew something was up. And he needed to find out what.

"Alright. Whatever geek boy." Dean didn't miss the relieved look on Sam's face. Now he was convinced that Sam was lying. "I'm going to get some coffee or something before my stomach eats itself. You will wait here till I get back alright?"

Sam chuckled weakly. "Where am I gonna go?"

* * *

Dean walked towards the nurses station, hoping to find Penny. It had been three goddamn days. The hospital had to have gotten the scan results by now. And by Sam's face, Dean had a shrewd suspicion that Sam knew what had happened to him and why. He just needed some proof to counter act Sam's arguments.

He managed to find Penny's desk with a couple of files laying on it.

"Damn it." he muttered, not spotting Penny anywhere. He looked back at her desk and caught Sam's photo sticking out of a file. He looked around the room. No one was there.

"What they don't know, won't hurt them." Dean muttered to himself, picking up Sam's file.

He smirked at the bored expression in Sam's photo. The kid hated having his photo taken. He scrolled through the pages, looking for something that might tell him what is going on. He got to the end of the file and almost dropped it seeing the one word in front of him in the 'Scan results.' section.

_Splenectomy _

Dean may not be a medical expert but he knew what that meant. Sam had surgically removed his spleen. Everything fit into place. The early onset of infection, the bacteria latching onto it, the sepsis, everything. Dean gingerly put the file back where he'd seen it and stormed out of the nurse's station, intent on confronting Sam about this. How could Sam not have told him? How could he have not known that his baby brother had gone through such a big surgery!?

He took a deep breath when he reached room 2583. He was about to storm in when he heard two voices talking. Thinking he might get what he want, he stood near the door, opening it by a crack.

"Sam, you do know you've gone through a major surgery right?" asked a female voice.

"Yes Doctor Philips. I know." said Sam.

"I have a feeling you know why the infection set on so fast along with the sepsis you went through." said Dr. Philips.

"Yes. I know Doc. I know you've even given me the variety of vaccines I need to take in order to keep the infection at bay. I've taken them myself for the past 4 years."

"Then why stop all of a sudden?"

"Um, I lost a person dear to me and I guess I just lost track of how much I was taking or wasn't taking."

"Alright. I understand. Just be careful in the future. I'll let your brother know about your progress and the scan results." said Dr. Philips, turning to leave.

"NO!" yelled Sam. Susan Philips turned back, eyeing her patient with shock.

"I'm sorry. It's just, Dean doesn't know about the splenectomy and I'd like to keep it that way for a while." Sam pleaded.

Susan frowned. "But I have to report to someone. He's been going through a lot as far as I can tell Sam. He's been questioning my staff everyday if they've gotten the results and every time I've told them to lie to him because I wanted to confirm with you first. I know for a fact that my sister had done your splenectomy. You'd barely made it through."

"I know Doc-"

"Susan." corrected the doctor.

"Alright. Susan, I know that it's bad that I'm keeping Dean in the dark, but please believe me when I say, it's for the best. I had the splenectomy in a part of my life that I want to remember yet forget about at the same time. My brother and I, we've been through a lot of crap and I don't want to dump this on him too." Sam said, looking at Susan with pain filled eyes.

Susan crumbled at the man before her. "Alright. Fine. I won't tell him. But you will have to and soon. I don't think that he's one of the guys that likes to just sit around." Susan gave her ultimatum and walked towards the door. Dean heard her footsteps and backed away, as though he was just coming up to the hallway. Susan smiled seeing Dean.

"You must be Dean Willis."

"Yeah. And you must be my brother's doctor."

"That I am. I'm happy to say he'll be fine. I've prescribed some...medicines for him. The list is with him so you don't need to worry. He should be back on his feet in no time. I'm Susan by the way." said Susan, holding out a hand.

Dean smiled at Susan and shook her hand. "Thank you. And do let me know when the results of the scans come out."

Susan gulped a little, nervous and nodded. She smiled and walked away.

Dean stared behind her and silently walked into Sam's room to find Sam sleeping peacefully. He looked sadly at his brother. He'd heard everything between Susan and Sam. Why was Sam hiding stuff from him? Feeling that the hospital wasn't the best place to confront Sam, he decided to find out more about Sam's condition before he actually talked to Sam about it. And till he did that, Sam was staying put right here in this hospital whether he liked it or not.

**TBC**

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**Well? Did I shock you? I promised I'd reveal what happened to Sam and here it is! Leave me reviews so I know what you guys think of it! :D**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Well, I'm sorry for the delay in getting this up. Studies and what not keeps getting in the way. I would like to mention that I will not be updating till the 16th or 17th of May as I'm going to be out of town. I apologize for it. I'll try and take my flash drive along, but I doubt I'll find internet where I'm going. I promise to update as soon as I get back. :)**

**Thanks for all the awesome reviews last chapter. :D I reached 1500 views on this fic already. You guys are awesome! You always make me smile!**

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Dean stared fondly at the peaceful form on the bed in front of him, lightly snoring away. He twitched a smile seeing how young Sam tended to look when his face was free of worry and pain and stress. Dean sighed and rubbed his face. He now definitely knew that Sam was trying to hide the splenectomy from him. But Dean had found out all the same. The only things that kept nagging at Dean was...why.

Why did Sam want to hide it from him?

Why did Sam never tell him about this?

Why did he think that Dean didn't need to know about it, at least not now?

Dean had wanted to confront Sam the minute he'd read his file, but something pulled him back. The hospital wasn't a place to have a shouting match or a chick flick moment. Somehow, after all that happened, Dean felt that he'd be more comfortable confronting Sam about this back at the motel after he was healed. That way, he'd be giving Sam some time to maybe prepare his answer and Dean would get some time to brace himself for the unknown.

Sam stared stirring, his eyelids fluttering. Dean immediately moved closer to the bed.

"Took you long enough." Dean teased. He smirked when he got the _shut-up-Dean _bitch face thrown at him from Sam.

"Well? How you feeling now?" asked Dean, concern lacing his voice.

Sam snorted dryly and then coughed, his throat dry. Dean pulled the glass of water from the bedside and held it up to Sam. Sam roughly grabbed it out of his hand and croaked, "I can do it by myself you know?"

Dean chuckled as he saw the independency streak lighting around his brother again. Ever since Sam had been born, he'd always wanted to do things 'by himself'. Even as a toddler he'd struggle with Dean on holding the bottle of milk.

"I know. Now answer me. How are you feeling now?" Dean asked, all jokes aside.

Sam stayed quiet for a minute. He wanted Dean to know about the emergency splenectomy he'd had to go through a year ago but he just couldn't bring himself to hear the truth. The truth about that night.

"I'm...I'm fine. Susan, I mean, Dr. Philips said...um...that I...uh..."

Dean knew Sam was trying to form up a lie. He thought he'd let his brother go for now, but deal with it later...at the motel. "I know man. Dr. Philips told me about the infection and stuff. No big deal."

Sam let out a sigh of relief as he found out that his brother did not know about the surgery. He'd tell Dean about it, soon enough.

"Okay. Great. So, um, when are we busting out of here?" Sam asked, trying to sit up.

"Whoa, easy there tiger. We're not going anywhere till you get better." Dean said, pushing Sam back down into the pillows.

"I'm fine Dean. It was just an infection, like you said. You know how much I hate hospitals dude." Sam argued.

"Yeah, but that infection nearly killed you Sam. You went into sepsis. And that's not a good thing brother. You are staying put till I say we can leave."

"But Dean-"

"No arguments Sam. We are not goofing around with your health here." Dean said sternly. They weren't going to leave. At least, not until Dean found out exactly how much he needed to know about Sam's condition.

Sam huffed angrily as he crossed his arms, wincing a little when the movement jarred his shoulder. "Fine. But if we don't leave soon, I'm definitely signing myself out AMA." Sam threatened.

Dean shook his head at his brother's stubbornness. His stubborn, independent, gigantor of a brother. "Yeah, whatever dude. I'm going to go get some coffee and talk to your doc. You stay put." Dean warned, pointing a finger at Sam.

"Where am I gonna go?" Sam yelled after Dean as he left the room. "Over protective fool." Sam muttered to himself.

* * *

Dean stood near the coffee maker, sipping his coffee. He'd been to see where he could find Dr. Philips and had been told that she get's off for lunch in a couple minutes. He tapped his foot impatiently, counting the minutes. He too didn't like hospitals much. He'd been in here too many times and they were memories he just wanted to forget. He hated making Sam stay here, but he needed to know the extent of Sam's condition.

Spotting Susan heading towards him, he quickly emptied his cup and threw it into the trashcan and waited for her to come over.

She smiled as she stopped in front of him. "Dean. One of the nurses told me that you were looking for me."

"Yeah. I was. I just wanted to ask about the scan reports. It's been quite a while and no one has told me about them yet. I hope everything is alright." Dean played along, hoping to get some information out of the doctor.

Susan started fidgeting with the files in her hand. "Well, the reports seem normal, like I'd mentioned before to Sam as well. He-" Dean cut her off.

He gave her a steely look before dropping all pretence. "Please Susan. Stop lying to me. I know there's something you're not telling me. I know there's something both you and Sam are hiding from me."

Now Susan was full on panicking. "You...you heard us talking didn't you?"

Dean nodded. "Also, I know I might have broken a few rules, but, um, I was looking for the nurse, Penny, and I couldn't find anyone in the nurses station. But I kind of glanced through Sam's file that had been lying on her desk and I know about the splenectomy."

Susan's face paled. This was not how she planned this to turn out. "W-What?"

"I'm sorry for breaking the protocol, but it was kind of an accidental glance." Dean stated.

"Well, there's nothing I can do about it now, can I?" Susan said nervously, running a hand through her hair. "My career's going to end up in the trash." she muttered to herself.

Dean heard her. "Don't worry. You'll keep your career and I'll keep my brother alive. All I want you to do is answer a few questions."

Susan gulped. "Um, alright."

Dean took a deep breath. This was it. "I want to know how Sam got the splenectomy as I heard you mention that your sister was given the case."

"I'm sorry. That's between my sister and Sam. Since that case wasn't mine, I can't reveal anything." Susan said, giving Dean an apologetic glance.

Dean nodded. "Okay fine. What happens when you get rid of a spleen?"

Susan felt relief flood through her. This she could do. She technically wasn't breaking any promises to Sam as it was a straight forward question. "Well, a splenectomy is kind of like an emergency procedure. It can heal by itself too if you let it but only if it isn't in too bad a condition. If the spleen swells up or ruptures due to a serious injury, we need to do an emergency splenectomy to prevent internal bleeding and loss of life."

"A spleen is like a reservoir for the red blood cells and platelets. It get's rid of old ones and makes new ones. Because of the removal of the spleen, there is a large increase in the number of white blood cells. Anyway, not to get into medical terms, the removal of the spleen tends to make the person more prone to infections and has an overall low immunity due to the lowering count of the red blood cells and platelets which help fight different infections."

Dean ran a hand over his face. This wasn't as bad as he'd thought, but for Sam to have had his spleen removed meant that he'd been hurt. Taking a deep breath, he asked, "Okay, final question. How do you take care of a person without a spleen?"

Susan smiled. "It's not so tough. He's been given the vaccines that he needs for the moment. In some people, the vaccines last a lifetime while in others you need a new dose every now and again. We usually give low dose antibiotics which they have to take for life to fight off the smaller but serious infections. The usual prescription is penicillin. Sometimes, the patient may develop a cough or cold which may be exactly that. The body is strong enough to fight off the cough or cold without the spleen. But sometimes serious illnesses start out with a cough or cold, so you should be on the lookout for that. Just overall, don't stress too much and be hygienic. Avoid travelling if it's not needed. Otherwise just keep some broad-spectrum antibiotics handy for emergencies."

Dean tried absorbing everything the doctor told him. He nodded slightly, running a hand through his hair. "Well, um, thanks. You don't mind if I come around sometime and get this all again in writing do you?"

Susan chuckled. "No, I don't have any problem. Come by anytime."

"Thanks." Dean said, smiling.

As he turned to walk away, Susan called out. "Dean. I'm technically not breaking any promises to Sam. But I should let you know, Sam's perfectly fine."

Dean turned around and nodded, only a slight worry for Sam in his eyes. "I know that doc. I know."

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**Well? As for 'the truth about that night..' it's going to be revealed soon. Maybe not the next chapter, but we'll see ;) Thanks for reading. Do leave reviews. :) Sorry for any errors. **


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Hey y'all! If you usually skip this note, I urge you to read it right now as I have some stuff to say. **

**First, chapter 4 was posted when FF had the email alerts problem, so if you didn't know about the update, do read it :) **

**Second, the idea for the splenectomy, Dean confronting the doctor, the constant mother henning...all this credit goes to hotshow. She practically gave me the whole story line when she requested me to write this fic. So thanks for all your help girl! **

**Third, you all are the most amazing people in the whole wide world. You have no idea how happy and ecstatic you guys make me with all your reviews and favorites and follows and stuff! I'm always screaming and squealing causing everyone to think I've gone crazy :P So thank you all so much for the undying support!**

**Anyways, I'm over with my rant. Enjoy!**

* * *

Sam glared at his brother sitting across him, who defiantly glared back. This little exercise had been going on for quite a while after both Sam and Dean had clamped shut in the aftermath of an argument. It was hard to determine which one of the men would break the silence. They just glared, maybe virtually throwing knives at the one another.

Finally, Sam couldn't take it. "Come on Dean! Please!" he whined, sounding a lot like a 5-year-old wanting his favorite ice cream.

"No Sam. We leave when I say, **not **when you say." Dean stated, stubbornly.

"Dean." Sam said again, trying to force himself to stay calm. "It's been a week. 7 days. I'm perfectly fine. I'm practically walking around the room when you're out. And that's out of sheer boredom. Even the physical therapy is over! My side barely even stings. And I feel as healthy as a horse. Please Dean, I'm tired of this place!" Sam said, failing to manage the calm tone.

Dean being Dean, he didn't budge. "Nope." He said, popping the 'p'.

"Damn it Dean! I swear to God, if you don't let me leave, I'm definitely going to sign myself out AMA, whether you like it or not." Sam said, his voice straining a little from all the yelling and complaining.

Dean scoffed. "Yeah, right."

Sam huffed. Dean left him no choice. There was only one thing he could do now to get his brother to give in to his demands. He let his expression fall. His stubborn faced turned into a sad frown and his hazel eyes were slowly growing larger and more watery. He sighed. "Dean...please. I-I know you're worried. But I'm just tired of this place. I feel-I feel claustrophobic. I hate depending on the people around here. And personally, I think we've given them enough trouble. Even Dr. Phillips gave the 'go' for discharging me." Sam said, using his emotion as the only weapon. Slowly, he lifted his gaze to his big brother. This had better work.

Dean finally met his brother's eyes and felt himself waver on his decision. The stubborn ass was giving him the puppy eyes. Full power of the puppy eyes. _Why the hell did I teach him that? _He felt himself crumble on the inside. "Goddamn it Sam! Stop with the eyes already. Fine! Fine! We'll leave first thing tomorrow morning, alright? Happy?" Dean forced out through gritted teeth.

Sam immediately let out a brilliant smile. "Yup."

"Stubborn bitch."

"Jerk."

* * *

Susan looked on fondly at the brothers in front of her. Just a glance and anyone could tell that these were two siblings with an extraordinary and profound bond. The way that Dean so minutely shadowed Sam, standing in such a way that he'd be protecting him from some danger as well as be in position to catch him were he to fall. Susan couldn't help but smile at the really deep and intimate relationship that these two men had. She knew for sure that if one were to die, then the other wouldn't be far behind. They were inseparable.

Dean gently helped Sam into the car, even though Sam bitched and argued all the way with arguments of 'I'm fine' and 'I can do it.' and 'Dude, stop the hovering.' Dean didn't care. Sam was in pain, no matter what Sam said. More mental than physical, but still. Dean was more than positive that Sam had been hurt bad for him to get his spleen removed. And he was going to find out.

"Wait here. I'll be right back." Dean said to Sam.

"Where am I gonna go?" Sam yelled back for the third time since they'd been there, as Dean ran up the steps back to the entrance of the hospital. Susan was waiting outside with a list of all the medication and a few pamphlets to help Dean take care of Sam.

"Here. This is the list of medication. This pamphlet shows risks, signs and just overall information on how to be safe once you have your spleen removed." Susan said, smiling and handing them to Dean.

Dean felt humbled. He rarely ever saw anyone break rules for them. Susan had managed to find out that their cards were fake along with their names. But instead of going to the police, she'd consulted with Dean first. "Thanks Susan. For everything."

Susan smiled again. "No problem. I know that you're in something deep here, like you said yesterday. But somehow, I know that it's for the good and not the bad. I just hope you prove me right. As for the medical expenses, don't worry about it. It's taken care of."

Dean shook hands with her and slowly walked back to the Impala. Rarely did anyone ever care for them like this. He suddenly stopped in his tracks and ran back up. "Susan wait!" he yelled. Susan turned around. "Here. This is my number. If you ever need help, if you ever see anything you can't explain, just give me a call. Don't worry about the time. I'll pick up."

Susan took the small sheet of paper from Dean with a confused look. "Anything strange?"

Dean laughed humorlessly. "Trust me. You'll know when you find it." Dean ran back to the car. He got in, and waved along with Sam as they drove off into the sun. Susan waved until she saw the car disappear from view. Still a little confused with Dean's last statement, she laughed to herself and went inside. Never had she met such mysterious yet gorgeous men. And somehow, she had a feeling that she'd see them again someday. Very soon.

* * *

Dean parked outside the motel and grabbed his duffel from the back seat as Sam got out of the car. Sam opened the door to their room and stopped short at the sight in front of him. The room was a mess. Clothes were lying all over the place. Tons of books lay open on the beds. A bottle of beer or two lay near the mini freezer along with crushed wrappings of cheeseburgers that littered the floor. It looked as though Dean hadn't bothered to clear up. It seemed as though he'd been too worried. The books clearly showed he'd been trying to find out what was wrong with Sam. The bottles of beer showed that he'd been trying to ease his tension. The food...well, Dean had an intimate relationship with food. But the clothes lying everywhere showed that Dean didn't bother to go to the Laundromat either.

Sam felt a lump rise in his throat. Dean clearly had been freaking out. Even Dean wasn't this messy. His breathing hitched a little as Dean patted his shoulder and entered the room.

"Oops. Sorry, didn't get a chance to clean up." Dean said, sheepishly. He walked over and started picking up the mess.

Sam couldn't watch this. "Here. Let me help." he said. He walked over and helped Dean put everything in order. All through this, he kept throwing his big brother fleeting glances. Dean cared. It clearly showed. Was he wrong? Did he misunderstand what happened 3 years ago? Dean deserved to know what happened, why Sam went through a splenectomy. Didn't he?

**TBC **

* * *

**I know I didn't reveal the big secret. Sorry? ;) I promise to reveal it next chapter! :D REVIEW!**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Alright, so get ready for the big reveal! I'm pretty nervous for this chapter. I don't know if I did the suspense justice. But this was the best theory I could come up with. And it seemed to fit pretty well. **

**Thank you to all those who resisted 'killing' me when I left the last cliffhanger. Thanks for waiting for so long. **

**Hope you enjoy! :D **

**WARNING : Involves molestation. Nothing too graphic, but needed a warning. **

* * *

_It was 12:30 am and the hospital was a blur of activity and movement. Sam wasn't the only serious trauma case that had moved in. Sam lay on one of the beds in the hospital room, breathing hard. A nurse tried to keep his vitals stable, while comforting the kid that he was going to be okay._

_A doctor came rushing in. He checked on Sam's injuries and immediately told his residents and interns to book on O.R. He then turned to Sam. _

"_Do you have anyone you can contact? I'm not going to lie. You're injuries are severe." _

_Sam nodded and in a hoarse voice asked for his phone. With shaking hands, he dialed a number he'd been refusing himself to call for the past 1 year. He'd run off, leaving is family after all. Dean. Dean would pick up. But all Sam got was voicemail. His dad's number gave the same result. And even Bobby didn't seem to care to pick up the phone. _

_Did anyone even care that he existed? Did anyone even think he might be in danger? Did anyone care? _

_Barely keeping it together, his head pounding from the noise that seemed to be never-ending in the hospital room, Sam looked around, desperately praying. He spotted Dean in the corner of the room._

"_Dean! Y-You came!" Sam said hoarsely, taking in sharp breaths. _

_Dean just stood there, hatred and menace etched on his face. "Yeah. I came. Only out of protocol though. I don't care what happens to you. You left us. You left me. You broke me. Why should I care if someone else broke you? Literally?" sneered Dean. _

_No. No. This was not happening. How could Dean say that?_

"NO!" yelled Sam as he bolted up in bed, his sweaty shirt clinging to his sweaty torso. He could feel his damp bangs sticking to his forehead. He nervously ran a hand through his hair, taking deep breaths to calm himself down. "It's just a nightmare." he muttered to himself. He looked around the room, but only saw dirty, pale yellow motel wallpaper staring back at him. Crap. That dream had seemed too real.

On the other side of the room, Dean had been awoken by Sam's yell. He looked over his shoulder to see Sam sitting up on the bed, running a hand through his hair. He kept watching for a few minutes as Sam swung his legs over the bed and laid his elbows on them, his head bowed. Dean knew this posture too well. Sam was trying to overcome his emotions. "Sammy? You okay?" Dean asked, his voice thick with sleep.

"Huh? Yeah. Fine. Just a nightmare. Sorry I woke you up. Go back to sleep Dean." Sam said, trying to keep the tears out of his voice. He was barely holding it together.

Dean knew Sam like a book. He knew every move and counter move the kid had. This time, he knew that Sam needed to let out whatever was bothering him. "Bullshit Sam."

"What?"

"I know something's bothering you. I'm your big brother dude. There's only a little that you can hide from me." Dean said, sitting up and swinging his legs over the side as well, so that he was facing Sam. "Look, I think I may know what this is about."

Sam stiffened. How could Dean know? What did Dean know? "What do you mean?" Sam asked, a little wary.

"I think you know what I mean. I hate to break it to you, but I read your file Sam. And I can read you like an open book so I knew from the get go that you were hiding something from me." Dean said, sighing. He didn't want to face this issue at 2:06 am, as the clock indicated. But he knew that if he didn't get it out of Sam now, he might never know who or what had hurt his brother.

Sam remained silent as he let the words sink in. "So...you know?" asked Sam, gulping audibly. He felt his throat dry in anticipation.

"Yeah. I know about the splenectomy."

Sam still remained silent.

"Why Sammy? Why didn't you tell me? Why didn't you call me?" asked Dean, trying not to betray the hurt in his voice.

At this, anger flared up in Sam. "Why didn't I call you? Why didn't I tell you? Huh. You never cared Dean. If you did, you would've picked up the phone that goddamn night." Sam yelled, unable to bottle up his emotions any longer.

Dean let Sam vent his anger. His heart shattered when Sam said he thought he didn't care. But first he needed to find out _why _Sam thought that. As soon as Sam seemed to calm down, Dean spoke in a calm voice. "What night Sam? What happened?"

Sam was struck hard by Dean's calm tone. It clearly showed that Sam had a choice whether he wanted to tell Dean or not. Dean was giving him his space. Sam's mind zoomed back to that morning when he'd entered the motel room and seen the mess. Dean had cared. No matter what had happened that gruesome night three or so years ago, Dean cared **right now.**

Dean deserved to know.

Sam took a deep breath. "That night Dean. That night, some three years ago."

* * *

**AROUND THREE YEARS AGO. (Flashback)**

It was 11:30 am and Jess still wasn't back from her friend's party. Call him paranoid, but Sam was starting to worry. Jess had said that she'd be back by 11:00. And she was never late. Never. Sam had waited half an hour before trying Jess's phone only to get the message saying that it was switched off.

"Crap." Sam muttered as he ended the call. Even though he had left his family almost 14 months ago, he still had his sharpened senses and intuition. And right now, his Jess radar was giving of large danger signals. Somehow, he couldn't shake off the feeling that something was wrong.

"Screw this." he muttered yet again to himself. He picked up his jacket, slipped his feet into his boots and ran off into the chilly night. He had to find Jess.

He'd been walking for about 10 minutes before he heard a scream that chilled him to his bone. He knew that tone of voice anywhere. It was Jess. He followed the direction he thought the scream had come from. He cursed himself for not leaving sooner. As he rounded a corner that led to an abandoned alley behind the campus of Stanford, the sight before him made his blood boil. His vision turned red.

In front of him, Jess was being forcefully handled by none other than the rich spoilt brat, Chad Ferguson. He always thought he'd get any girl he wanted, and he always had eyes on Jessica.

"Let me go you freak!" yelled Jess. She was tough. She was trying with all her might to fight off Chad, but Chad being almost as tall and as built as Sam, it seemed to sap her energy more quickly.

"Oh come on sweetheart, I know you want me." Chad said, as he ran a hand over her now exposed thigh as he hoisted her dress up. Jess was wearing a tight, black, skin fitting dress that stopped just above her knee.

Jess seemed to panic as she realized her classmate's intentions. "Stop! Please!" she pleaded as he started moving in. He pinned Jessica to the wall and started kissing her neck line, his hands hoisting her dress up even higher to reveal her undergarments.

"Stop fighting love. I'm telling you. You'll enjoy this."

"Let. Her. Go." came a stern authoritative voice from behind Chad. Chad turned around and smirked when he saw Sam standing behind him.

"Well, well, well. If it isn't Winchester. Come to share?" he sneered as he held onto Jessica's elbow.

Sam didn't think twice as he firmly let his knuckles connect with Chad's skull. Chad howled in pain and let go of Jessica who ran over to Sam, tugging her dress down. Chad looked up blearily at Sam.

Sam immediately shielded her. "Don't you dare touch her again you bastard." he said in a low menacing voice. "Come on Jess." He held onto Jess as he slowly led her away from the alley. As they reached the corner, Sam felt something hard collide with the back of his head and he was brought to his knees. His eyes were watering in pain.

"SAM!" Jess yelled.

"Winchester, you made a terrible mistake messing with me." Chad said, as Sam got to his feet and faced his opponent. Chad ran a hand over his cut temple. "And you made an even terrible mistake snatching Jess from me." He lunged towards Sam. Being the boxing champion for quite a while now, Chad wasn't afraid of Sam.

Sam immediately dodged the punch that was thrown his way and managed to get hold of Chad and throw him against the wall. A scuffle ensued which resulted in both getting pretty bruised and battered. Soon they separated from each other. Chad was sporting a black eye, cut lip and profusely bleeding temple whereas Sam was clutching his torso and sporting a cut cheek and split lip.

Chad laughed. "Am I too tough for you Winchester?" he sneered.

Sam blinked through the pounding in his head. Not now. He hated the migraines he seemed to be getting ever since he was a kid, and this was a really bad time for one to start. He tried to breathe through the pain as the surrounding seemed to be spinning. He closed his eyes and that's where he made a mistake. Seeing Sam off guard, Chad lunged in for his move and delivered a hard fist straight to Sam's already injured torso. Sam let out a strangled yell and dropped to his knees. He couldn't breathe. He took in pained gasps and started coughing. He opened his eyes and alarm peaked as he saw red splattering the ground near his knees. He was coughing up blood.

"Oh my God." Chad exclaimed as he saw Sam coughing up blood in front of him. Fear clouded every sense in Chad. He was so getting expelled.

"What did you do?!" Jessica yelled as she dropped next to Sam. She'd watched in horror as Sam and Chad had fought, too scared to move. "Help me!" she yelled. But Chad had other plans. He ran in the opposite direction. He didn't want anymore to do with the Winchester.

"No! Sam? Sam!" Jess frantically blurted out. Sam leaned into Jess, consciousness slowly slipping away.

"You...you...'kay?" Sam wheezed. The pain in his head and torso were blinding him. He knew he was going to pass out. He just wanted to make sure Jess was okay.

"I'm fine Sam. Wait here. Please. I'll go get help." Jess said as she helped Sam sit against the wall. No. She couldn't leave him here like this.

"HELP! PLEASE! HELP!" she yelled at the top of her voice. Tears freely ran down her face as she saw Sam drifting off. "No Sam. You have to stay awake okay? HELP!"

She looked around and was relieved to hear footsteps coming in their direction. "HELP!" she yelled again. Smiling a little in relief, she looked over to Sam and felt her heart stop. Sam lay limp against the wall, sagging towards Jess. He was barely breathing.

"SAM!"

**(End flashback)**

* * *

Dean had listened in silence throughout the whole thing. Sam was now shaking with both anger and fear of that memory. Dean had felt his heart skip a beat when Sam had reached the part about him coughing up blood.

"Crap Sam. Why the hell didn't you tell me about this before?!"

"I never got a chance Dean! And it's not like I didn't try!" Sam retorted back. He was barely dealing with Jess's death and this seemed to be bringing out all sorts of emotions.

"What do you mean?" Dean asked, confused.

"I tried calling you up when I regained consciousness in the hospital. I even tried Dad and Bobby. But none of you seemed to pick up. I thought you were done with me. I thought you didn't care." Sam said, tears now streaming down his face.

Dean felt his heart shatter as he saw how vulnerable Sam looked. He _did _care. How could he not? "I do care Sam. I'm so sorry. I really am." Dean said as he pulled Sam into a hug. Sam fought for a few seconds and then fell limp against Dean, sobbing freely on his shoulder.

As Sam seemed to calm down, Dean let go. "You're just like a girl, you know that Sasquatch?" Dean joked, trying to lighten the chick-flick moment.

"Shut up." Sam muttered.

Dean chuckled, then sobered up. "I'm going to rip that guy's lungs out." he threatened. Sam smiled seeing the protective side of his brother come out. That's what he had needed that night.

"Why didn't you pick up Dean?" Sam asked, his voice breaking.

"I would always have picked up Sam. I don't know. Tell me, when did this happen?"

Sam thought for a few minutes. "In January. On your birthday. January 24th, 2002."

Dean thought for a minute and then groaned. This had all been just a misunderstanding. "Damn it Sam. I would've picked up. If I had my phone. Just our luck. I guess I've been hiding something too."

**TBC**

* * *

**Yup. Dean has a secret too. Why didn't Dean or John or Bobby pick up the phone? It was precisely because of this that Sam felt that he'd been abandoned. I know it's annoying. I promise to reveal Dean's secret next chapter. ;) Do leave reviews! :D **


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: Alrighty, here is the rest of the reveal. Sorry for leaving you guys hanging again and again. But finally, we're through with the cliffhangers. (For now anyway) *evil laugh* Okay, that was a total fail. Anyway, I hope you guys enjoy this. This was fairly difficult to write and I did happen to get stuck in a few spots. But I plowed through it I guess. Thanks to everyone who resisted killing me last couple chapters :P And thank you for all your reviews and list-adding. :D**

**I'm going to stop ranting now. Enjoy! :)**

* * *

"What do you mean?" Sam frowned, in spite of himself.

Dean sighed, running a hand through his hair. "It's...it's not a secret. Not technically. It's just..." Dean hesitated. He didn't want to worry Sam unnecessarily. And then there's the fact that Sam would blame himself for what happened that fateful night.

"It's what Dean? Please, tell me." Sam pleaded, his voice breaking. He needed to know, needed to understand why his family had shunned him aside when he was literally fighting for his life.

Dean couldn't take it anymore. "Fine. That night, Dad and I had just finished working a difficult case and were trying to ease off the tension in a bar."

* * *

**(Flashback)**

Dean fiddled with his shot glass. He didn't feel like drinking tonight. His dad on the other hand was smiling, glancing around the room and clearly enjoying their success.

"Another job well done." John told his eldest.

"Hmmm." Dean mumbled. He wasn't interested in celebrating.

John frowned, sensing that Dean wasn't in a good mood. "What's wrong son? That case was fairly hard to crack. Who knew it could be a water wraith? We deserve to celebrate son."

"You celebrate Dad; I'm going back to the motel." Dean said. He sighed and walked out the bar, his shot glass lay untouched. John thought to rush after his son, but refrained himself. He knew exactly what was bothering him. It was his birthday, and Sam wasn't there. Sam hadn't even called to wish him. Dean had always been wanted to be left alone on his birthday ever since Sam had left. John thought to give his son a few minutes head start before going after him.

Fifteen minutes passed and John felt that he could face his son now without him blowing up in anger or sorrow. He paid for their drinks, left a generous tip and rushed out the bar. He knew Dean could very well take care of himself, but being a father, the worry and slight uneasiness at leaving your kids alone never seemed to fade. He followed the familiar route, walking back towards their motel. He was a few blocks away from the motel when a cry of pain rang out from the narrow alleyway on his left. That alleyway served as a shortcut to the motel. And that cry...John knew that cry anywhere.

...

Dean let out a cry of pain as one of the seven guys slashed across his chest with a knife. He stumbled to the ground. He'd been taking the alley as a shortcut and had been jumped by seven guys. He'd been trying to hold them off for the past ten minutes.

"Take everything." said one of the guys, his voice deep and menacing.

Dean having heard that, immediately got to his feet and resumed his fighting stance, anger filling up in him. This was so not happening on his birthday. He was so not getting mugged today. The crowd of muggers in front of him laughed as Dean eyed all of them with calculating eyes. Dean knew he wouldn't come off well even with all his training. It was one on seven. A few seconds passed in silence and soon, the crowd of men were upon Dean, beating him to a pulp.

...

Seeing only red, John rushed towards the sound of pain and felt his vision go even darker. A group of guys, that looked to be in their twenties were beating the crap out of his son. John took out his revolver and advanced on the men.

"Let. Him. Go." John said through his teeth.

The men stopped at the sound and turned to the elder Winchester. Dean lay near the wall, gritting his teeth in pain. Each one of the guys had one of Dean's possessions in hand. A wallet, a phone, a bracelet, an amulet, a jacket, a gun and a lock picking kit. John's eyes immediately flew to the possessions and felt his blood boil.

"Drop the things and leave before I snap." John threatened, his voice low.

One of the men started laughing. "Really grandpa? You wanna mess with us?"

John let out a humorless chuckle. "Boy, you made a huge mistake messing with my family." And the next second, three shots rang out in the air and three people fell to the ground, moaning in pain. "Anyone else wanna mess with me?"

The four guys looked in terror at the Winchester before them. All four ran the opposite way, two of them dropping their possessions. John walked over to the injured three guys and picked up the bracelet, amulet and the gun. He then walked over to the fallen possessions and picked up the jacket and lock picking kit.

He then ran over to Dean who was standing with the support of the wall. John carefully studied his son's injuries. A split lip, a nasty gash on his forehead and chest and maybe a sprained left wrist. Nothing that he couldn't fix. He pulled his son into a hug.

Dean hissed as the movement jarred his injuries, but embraced his dad back all the same. "Thanks Dad."

John let go of his son and gave him a sharp rap on the head. "You idiot. Stop thanking me. I'm your Dad. Now, let's get you back to the motel." he said, supporting his son on his side. He let Dean stow his possessions on himself and didn't miss the way Dean took a deep breath of relief as he slipped on the bracelet and amulet.

As they neared the motel, Dean said, "This is the crappiest birthday ever."

**(End flashback)**

* * *

Sam looked in shock at his brother. Somehow, he couldn't stop the chuckle that escaped his lips.

Dean eyed his little brother in worry, wondering if he'd finally snapped from all the stress. "Sammy, you okay?" he asked warily.

Sam stopped chuckling and said, "Dude, what are the odds that we both get our asses handed to us on the same day?"

Dean smiled as he got the joke. "You're right about that."

Sam suddenly stopped laughing and guilt immediately flowed through him. If he had been there, if he hadn't left for Stanford, Dean would never have even left the bar in the first place. "Dean-"

"Shut up Sam. I know what you're about to say and I'm going to answer that it isn't your fault."

"But-"

"No Sam. You know our luck. Winchester luck sucks, so it's not your fault. It could have happened anyway." Dean said sternly.

Sam looked pleadingly at his brother. Maybe Dean was right. May it wasn't his fault. "Fine. But there's still one thing I don't get. Why couldn't I get to you?" Sam asked, his face scrunched up in confusion.

Dean shook his head in amusement. "Sam, being a geek, you sometimes sound really stupid. My phone and wallet got stolen that night. Remember?"

Sam's mouth popped up in a comical 'O'

"But then, what about Dad? I tried to get through to him too." Sam asked.

Dean frowned for a minute, trying to recollect that night. "Oh right. On the case, Dad was sort of pulled into the water by the wraith, so his phone pretty much got fried. He had to ditch it."

Hearing Dean's statement, relief flooded through Sam. His family never abandoned him, even though he had abandoned them. They had always cared. He was just stupid not to see it. He let out a sigh of relief and fresh tears began to pour through his hazel eyes. "Gosh, I'm so sorry. I didn't know...obviously you cared...shit Dean, I'm sorry."

Dean felt his heart melt. "No Sammy. Don't be. It was all just a misunderstanding. A crappy misunderstanding." he said as he pulled Sam into a hug. He smiled when Sam seemed to relax.

"Once again, I swear I feel like I have a little sister and not a little brother." Dean said, trying to lighten the moment. He hated chick-flicks.

Sam threw his famous bitch face at Dean, who laughed. Everything was finally back to normal.

"Say what, how 'bout we head over to Bobby's for a couple days? You know, take a break for a few days?" Dean asked. He knew he was being overprotective, but no way were they hunting until he himself was sure that Sam was healthy and fit.

Sam smiled. "Yeah. I'd like that." That way, he'd maybe find out if he'd been wrong about Bobby ditching him too.

"Alright, then it's settled. We'll start tomorrow morning. Now go to sleep Sasquatch."

**TBC**

* * *

**Yup. Bobby is coming! :D I'm going to warn you, Bobby is a really tough character to portray, so bear with me. Also, updates might be less frequent as I'm trying to concentrate on my studies. Leave reviews! :D Sorry for any errors! **


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: Here's the next chapter. :) I know this chapter isn't much. But I've been really busy and I can't promise frequent updates (though I try). Thank you so much for the tremendous amount of support. It truly means the world to me. **

**Even though it doesn't seem like it, this was a pretty hard chapter to write. Hope you all like it. I'll try and update soon. :) **

**Thank you to all my reviewers, readers and list-adders. You all make my day. This story has reached 5000 views and counting, so I'm pretty much on cloud nine! :D **

**Enjoy! :)**

* * *

_Stupid sunshine._ Sam thought to himself as it streamed through the window and right towards his face. Grumbling to himself, he shifted away from the light, dragging the covers over his head; ending up exposing his feet. Irritation swept through Sam as he cursed himself for being so tall that his legs tended to hang out of the bed along with his blanket being to short for him. _Never mind._ Sam thought again while curling up into a ball and snuggling into his covers, as he slowly and steadily felt himself drift towards his personal dreamland.

"SAMMY!" came a loud yell. The next minute Sam felt the covers being ripped off of himself. He yelped as the cold air seemed to prick his skin like millions of needles.

"What?" Sam whined as he sat up, shielding his eyes from the blinding sunlight. Yawning, he looked over to his left to see Dean sitting up on his own bed, fully dressed; grinning like he'd just found pie.

"Up and at 'em Sammy. We've got a long drive to Bobby's." Dean said, as he got up and continued packing his duffel. He'd been doing so before he'd seen Sam start to come out of his sleep. He couldn't resist having a little fun with his baby brother.

"It's Sam." came the mumbled reply. Dean chuckled as Sam sleepily staggered into the bathroom to freshen up.

Dean pulled out his phone and dialed Bobby for the third time. He'd gotten the answering machine the first two times and was starting to get slightly worried. He all but yelled out in relief as a click on the other end indicated that Bobby had picked up the phone.

"_Yeah." _said Bobby.

"Hey Bobby. It's Dean. You mind if Sam and I stop by for a couple days?"

"_Dean? Dean who?" _teased Bobby.

Dean pulled a disbelieving expression as he answered. "Winchester. Dean Winchester. Are you slipping up old man?" smirked Dean.

"_Watch your mouth boy." _said Bobby playfully. _"It's been quite a while since I heard from you boys. I heard about what happened with Sam. The fire and all. I hope he's holding up okay."_

"Yeah. He's fine. So? Can we stop by?"

"_Yeah. 'course ya idjit. Why the hell you think you need to call me for that? Did I ever say no to you boys for comin' over? Get your asses here quick though. I might just need a hand with some research." _

Dean chuckled. "Don't worry. Sammy will love to help you. He and books equals love at first sight."

Bobby chuckled hearing Dean's wise cracks. He missed the boys. _"Alright then. I'll be waiting for ya. Damn it, I'm getting another call. Talk to you later Dean." _

"Yeah sure. See you soon." Dean said as he hung up the phone.

Sam walked in right as Dean hung up. He looked curiously at Dean. Dean spotted the look and said, "Bobby. Just letting him know we're coming over." Dean threw the last bit of his possessions into his duffel and zipped it up while Sam got dressed. They decided to stop for breakfast along the way.

* * *

"Since when do you wake up at the crack of dawn?" Sam asked as he helped load their luggage into the trunk of the Impala. He sighed as Dean snatched Sam's duffel from him. Dean had been hovering over Sam and his injured shoulder for a while now. "And dude, you've got to stop with the mother-henning. It's getting kind of weird."

Dean scowled at Sam as they walked to the front of the car. He leaned his hands on the roof of the car, pointing at Sam. "Hey. You're not the only one with an alarm clock. I can wake up whenever I want to. And second, I'm **not **mother-whatever. I'm just trying to look out for you, so suck it up while it lasts." Dean said as he got into the driver's side.

Sam shook his head in amusement as he slid into the passenger's seat. As much as it annoyed him, he was glad that Dean was doing what he did. After last night, he kind of liked the protectiveness his brother was showing. He'd missed that. It was something even Jess couldn't replicate.

"Alright. We're off to Bobby's." Dean chanted as he started up the car. He glanced over at Sam who gave a half-smile and looked out the window. Dean knew Sam like a book. He knew when his brother was sad, happy, hurting or otherwise. So he didn't miss the way Sam's shoulders seemed to tense up and his jaw tighten just slightly.

Dean sighed as he drove. "Dude. I told you not to hide anything from me. What's going on in that freaky head of yours?"

Sam stiffened. Damn it. Dean knew him too well. "Nothing. Just wondering."

"Wondering about what?"

Sam sighed. "That night..." Sam didn't miss the way Dean's hands tightened on the steering wheel. He knew that if Dean had his way, Chad would be dead by now. Sam continued. "That night when I couldn't get through to you or Dad, I-I'd tried Bobby too. Only, I'd gotten voice-mail. I thought he might call up once he got the message, but he never did. I guess I'm just kind of...worried. I don't want to...I just.." Sam sighed, unable to complete his thought. He knew the level of respect Dean had for Bobby because he felt the same way. Bobby had provided for them in ways that not even John had accomplished.

Dean nodded as he understood what Sam was trying to say. "You're afraid he ditched you, right?"

Sam nodded, his hair falling around his face and he looked down at his hands, absently drawing sigils onto his palm with his finger like he always did when he was nervous or worried. Dean smiled.

"Don't worry Sam. We'll ask him. Together. And as far as I can tell, I'm pretty sure it was a misunderstanding just like with me and Dad. 'Kay? Don't get too worked up."

Sam relaxed as it settled in. Yup. Dean was right. Maybe it really would add up to just a misunderstanding. Maybe Bobby didn't really hate him. Sam could remember the lecture he'd gotten from Bobby as he'd talked about his Stanford application with him and Dean. Bobby hadn't been too keen on the idea. Sam sighed inwardly. He didn't have too much faith, but if Dean said it would be alright, then it had to be.

**TBC.**

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**Well? I know it's not much, but I had to get something out there for you guys. :) I hope it was worth the wait. *crosses fingers* **

**Leave reviews! :)**


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: Sorry for the long wait! Studies and fanfiction don't go together. They're like opposite poles. Hence, the delay in updates. Hope you all understand. **

**Thank you for the amazing response and amount of support. It means the absolute world to me! :D You have no idea... :) **

**OH MY GOSH! 88 reviews?! Are you guys kidding me?! Thank you so so so much! :D **

**Enjoy!**

* * *

Bobby huffed as he set the large amount of books in his arms on the side table. He cast a cursory glance around the room and smiled to himself in satisfaction. The living room had been a total mess owing to the large amount of research he had done for a couple of hunters who were in a fix. He'd managed to clear up most of it so the place didn't look like an earthquake had just struck. He glanced at his watch and muttered, "Any minute now."

He smiled once again as his prediction went true. Not a few moments later he heard the loud rumble of the Impala pulling in. A genuine toothy smile lit up as he opened the door to greet his boys. No matter what anyone else thought, Sam and Dean were like his own kids.

"Ya idjits took long enough." Bobby said as he walked up to them.

Dean laughed. "Nice to see you too Bobby." he said as he hugged Bobby. Sam grinned as Bobby walked up to him and gave him a one-armed hug.

"Sorry. I'd hug you properly if I wasn't afraid of pulling the stitches and getting Dean to hover over me for the rest of the day." Sam said.

Bobby chuckled. "Dean can be quite an annoyance, can't he?"

"Hey! I'm still here." Dean snapped indignantly. He rolled his eyes in exasperation at the joint amused glances he got from his brother and uncle and stalked off into the house yelling, "I hope you have pie!"

Sam started the slow walk towards the front door. Even though he would never admit, this drive had exhausted him completely. Bobby didn't miss the way Sam was favoring one arm more than the other.

"Tough job?" Bobby asked.

Sam smirked. "Kind of. Vengeful spirit. Classic hook man legend. He managed to get the jump on me by shoving his deranged hook into my shoulder. I got an infection...um...that we were too late in spotting. Ended up in the goddamn hospital." Sam finished. He'd almost blurted out about the splenectomy. He wasn't ready to face Bobby about that yet.

Bobby whistled a low whistle. "God, Sam. You guys just manage to find the hard stuff don't you?"

Sam chuckled. "Yeah. I guess we do."

"Dean being a mother-hen?" Bobby asked, his eyebrows raised. Sam threw an amused glance at Bobby.

"That obvious?" Sam asked.

"Yeah. You could say that. Come on. I made Bobby's special soup and noodles that you boys seem to like so much."

Sam smiled as he followed Bobby into the Singer household. Maybe Dean was right. Maybe he'd been wrong about the whole situation. Maybe Bobby might have just missed his call or just never got the voicemail. The only thing he could see in Bobby was his concern and love for him. He was definitely wrong about Bobby. Wasn't he?

* * *

All was pleasant. Dean was sitting on one of the rickety stools in Bobby's kitchen, glancing into Sam's laptop. There were two things he could be doing; watching porn or looking for more information on Sam's splenectomy. Sam had fallen asleep doing research for Bobby and was now on the sofa, lounging quite comfortably with his legs hanging off the side of it. Bobby was in his study arguing with some hunter on the phone.

Dean glanced up as Bobby walked into the kitchen and pulled out some beer, taking a large swig of it.

"You hunters are going to make me lose the little hair I have left on my head." Bobby said.

Dean chuckled. "See it this way Bobby. You are the best there is. So people ask you for help."

Bobby looked at Dean in disbelief. "Yeah. And that makes me feel a lot better." he said, his voice laced with sarcasm. Dean shrugged, not knowing what to say next. Bobby frowned slightly as Dean's lips were moving silently as though he were reading something. At least that confirmed he wasn't watching porn or something.

"What are ya doing there?" Bobby asked as he walked around to see what caused Dean to apply all his concentration to the laptop. He was surprised as Dean immediately snapped the laptop shut.

"Nothing. Just looking for a case. Didn't find anything." Dean said, not meeting Bobby's eyes. Bobby immediately knew that he was hiding something. This wouldn't be the first time the boys stopped by because of some problem. Bobby felt that it could be something more than just Sam injured. He nodded, playing along with the elder Winchester.

Dean silently let out a breath of relief as Bobby seemed to buy his lie. In truth, he'd been looking for more information on Sam's condition. He owed Sam. He knew Sam still felt insecure about that night and it was his choice on when he wanted to confront and tell Bobby about that. He owed him that much. He felt guilty on hiding it, but he knew it was up to Sam to talk to Bobby.

A loud thump reverberated through the living room. Dean immediately sprang from the stool, which felt onto its side with a loud clatter, and sprinted to the room to see Sam groaning on the floor.

He immediately went over to help the kid up. "What the hell happened?"

Sam ducked his head in embarrassment. "You'll laugh at me dude. It's better if you don't know."

Dean glared at Sam. "Dude, you've ripped your stitches. I _need _to know."

Dean's eyebrows rose in surprise as Sam blushed red and ducked his head while mumbling something inaudible. "I don't speak alien Sam. Can you translate that into English maybe?"

Sam threw his brother the patented _reserved-for-Dean-Winchester _bitch face before mumbling, "I fell from the sofa while trying to roll over."

Dean stared at his brother for a few seconds before he started chuckling.

"See! I told you! I knew you'd start laughing." Sam whined as he threw his head back against the sofa. Both the brothers were sitting on the ground with Sam using the sofa as a back rest.

Dean took a few breaths to steady himself. "Sorry man. It's just the way you put it. And seriously man. You're twenty-two years old if I'm not wrong and yet you act like a five-year old." Dean teased.

"Shuddup." Sam mumbled as he clutched his shoulder and gritted his teeth. He felt like his shoulder was on fire.

Dean immediately sobered up seeing the pain on Sam's face and the way he tensed up as he clutched his shoulder. "I'll get the first aid kit."

As Dean hurried towards one of the drawers where he knew Bobby stashed the medical supplies, Bobby slowly entered the room.

He'd been standing in the shadows watching his two favorite boys. It always fascinated him how close they seemed to be to each other. He knew it was a form of invading privacy, but he hadn't been able to help himself as he'd glanced at Sam's laptop. His worry had spiked as Dean had been researching on splenectomy and it's after care.

"Hey Bobby." Sam mumbled as he spotted the old man leaning on the far wall.

Dean smirked as he walked back up to his brother and argued with him to get his shirt off which was now stained with red near the shoulder. Bobby watched affectionately as Dean tended to Sam. He smirked every now and again at both their banter and smart ass comments they kept throwing at one another. If he knew the boys well, he'd either have to bully them as always to talk about the splenectomy or if they were smart enough, they'd talk about it themselves. He just hoped it wasn't too serious. If one of them had undergone a splenectomy, he knew how bad a trauma was needed to cause a spleen to rupture. He sighed as he knew it would be quite a while before he found out about all this. He didn't want to invade their space and privacy any further.

"Idjits." he muttered under his breath as he walked towards his study to resume his work.

**TBC.**

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**Well? Did you guys like it? You'll find out about why Bobby didn't answer Sam's voice-mail soon! I promise. Review! :D It makes my day to know what you guys think :) **


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: I'm sorry for the late update! I've been swamped with life apparently. It's no joke. I feel so horrible. **

**Thank you so much for all the reviews and views! :D 100 freaking reviews! THANK YOU! Thank you so much to every single person who reads this. You all mean the world to me. :) **

**_I got a Tumblr :) Follow me at Winchester4life . tumblr . com (Remove the spaces)_

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Four days. It had been four freaking goddamn days and the boys still remained silent about the surgery. Bobby was going crazy with worry and it didn't help that he always reached the worse case scenario when he thought about what he'd seen Dean researching that day. He'd thought that it'll be a day or two and maybe one or both would approach him and tell him exactly what was going on. But nope. He'd got nothing, nada.

Bobby stared at the Latin in front of him, not registering a single word. His mind kept flying back to two days ago when Sam had started running a fever and Dean had all but freaked out. Bobby didn't understand as both of them had run a fever quite a lot of times and it never indicated anything worse than that itself but the way that Dean had reacted that night scared Bobby. He glanced up from his work to see Sam on the sofa, the table in front of him scattered with papers and notes and ancient looking books. He'd insisted on helping Bobby with the research. Dean was lounging next to him, a beer bottle in hand and a laptop on his lap.

As Dean chuckled under his breath, Sam's eyes narrowed at his brother. "Dude, I swear if you're doing anything other than research on that I'll kill you."

Dean rolled his eyes at his baby brother. "Relax. I'm not. I'm reading witness accounts of the case and well, it's just..." Dean couldn't continue as he started chuckling again.

Sam frowned. "What do you mean?" he asked.

Dean turned the laptop towards him. "See that one? He says it was a stripper out to get him. Then there's this one where a lady says that her boyfriend turned into a clown and tried to choke her. I mean come on. These are ridiculous," Dean said.

Sam chuckled nervously. "Clowns aren't exactly the friendliest of people you know," he muttered.

Dean looked confused for a second before exploding in laughter.

"Shut up," Sam muttered as he blushed a deep red.

Dean wiped the tears from his eyes and laid a hand on his brother's shoulder. "Sorry. I just don't get why you're afraid of clowns is all," he said. He then turned to Bobby. "I still don't get how this is a case!" he yelled.

Bobby let out a string of curse words as he found what he'd been looking for. He should have seen it before with all the bizarre witness accounts. He jogged to the kitchen and picked up one of the dozen phones lying on the dining table. He tapped his feet impatiently while waiting for the guy on the other line to pick up.

"Hey, Lloyd, I think I just figured out what you're dealing with. It's the pagan Norse God Loki. The God of chaos and mischief if I'm not wrong and to kill him you kind of have to trap him in one of his own schemes...how the hell am I supposed to know how to do that ya stubborn ass?...'kay. Bye. Don't get dead." Bobby rubbed a tired hand across his face as he hung up the phone.

Sam was looking with innocent curiosity. "Seriously? The pagan God Loki?" he questioned. Bobby smirked. Sam rolled his eyes and finally set aside his research and ran a hard hand over his forehead trying to get the pain to die down. Sensing his brother's discomfort, Dean immediately caught on.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

Sam shook his head and regretted it at once as pain seemed to course through his temples. "Nothing man. Just a headache," he said, trying to downplay it. He didn't want Dean freaking out all over again like last night when he'd barely caught a temperature of 99.9. And it didn't even classify as fever.

Dean nodded to himself and hurried to Bobby's medicine cabinet. He pulled out two pain pills and scooped up the jug of water that lay next to the cabinet. Silently he held it out to Sam who stubbornly refused. Dean stayed adamant as he glared at Sam. Seeing the intensity and slight worry in Dean's features, Sam sighed and took the pills from hid big brother, but hesitated in taking them.

"Please Sam." Dean sighed as he sat across from Sam on the table filled with research material.

"But Dean, it's nothing. I'm sure it'll die down. I think I was just researching too much," said Sam.

"Sam please. I know you could be as right as hell, but I don't want to take any chances here. You know what Susan said. After your splenectomy, we have – shit," Dean cursed as he closed his eyes and ran his tongue over his teeth. He hadn't meant to blurt it out with Bobby in the room. He may not even have realized it if Sam hadn't tried to squeeze his hand in warning.

Bobby had been leaning against the entrance to the living room, watching his boys fondly. He immediately stiffened at Dean's revelation. He could tell that Dean hadn't wanted to do that. Even though he thought he'd had an early warning as he'd been sneaky, it didn't seem to lessen the hurt as he realized that it was Sam who'd had the surgery.

He cleared his throat. "Come again, Dean." He requested. Dean looked helplessly at Bobby and then threw the mother of all apologetic glances at Sam.

Sam sighed. "It's okay man. Better sooner than later right?" he teased, failing to stop his voice from shaking. Bobby could sense the hesitation, the slight fear if he was not mistaken in Sam's body language. He'd known the kid long enough to recognize most of his signs. Knowing to keep within his limits, he walked over to the brothers and sat down on the single armchair opposite them and leaned forward.

"Mind telling me what is going on here boys?" he asked.

Sam sighed as he clasped his hands together to stop them from trembling. It still hurt to think about that night. He was grateful when Dean silently laid a hand across the back of his neck to comfort him. It was a small but really powerful gesture as it made Sam feel secure.

Dean turned to Bobby. "Look. This isn't easy for any of us, and I know for a fact that you snooped on the laptop the other night. I'd have done the same thing."

Bobby half smiled. "Guess you know me well." Dean smiled back. "I've been waiting for both of you to come with it yourselves, and if you ain't ready, I'm not gonna push you," Bobby added.

Sam shook his head. "Like I said, better sooner than later. Well, here goes nothing." And saying so, Sam launched into the story of Chad and Jess. Dean popped in later about what had happened on his side and why they (he and John) hadn't been able to get to Sam. Then they launched into the details about the Hook man spirit and how Dean had found out about Sam's surgery; the story ultimately ending with them coming to Bobby's.

Bobby took off his ball cap and ran a hand through his almost bald head. "Wow. You guys sure know how to find trouble," he muttered. Two half hearted chuckles came as a response.

Sam hesitated. He didn't want to accuse Bobby of not being there for him. It could all be a misunderstanding too. He looked to Dean who nodded. He took a deep breath. "Bobby, there's something else."

Bobby looked up and could practically sense the tension in the air. Dean was half glancing at Sam and half at Bobby as though wary of his reaction.

Sam fiddled with his hands, not looking Bobby directly in the eye. "After I couldn't get through to Dean or Dad, I...I kind of tried you." Bobby gulped. He didn't remember getting any call from Sam. He could kill himself for ignoring the kid's call, if there'd ever been one that is. "It was January 24th, 2002 by the way. Anyway, I tried to get to you but it went into voicemail so I left a message. And..." Sam trailed off.

Bobby sighed. "I didn't come, right?" he asked. Sam nodded.

"Look Bobby, I don't blame you. you're a busy hunter and I know you were pissed when I ditched Dad and Dean for Stanford so it's understandable that you'd – " Sam abruptly cut off as Bobby glared at him.

"Wait a minute. You idjits think I ignored the call? You think that I didn't pick up or something because I was _pissed_? Sam, I might have been pissed but I was mighty proud of you. You boys are like my own sons, and it was great news to hear you'd gotten accepted into Stanford."

"Thanks," mumbled Sam, silently pleased. He frowned. "Then why didn't you come?" he asked, a little hurt.

Bobby thought for a minute. 2002 was a long time ago and being an old man, you're memories aren't always sharp. "2002, January 24th. What the hell was I doing?" he muttered to himself. Then it hit him. Fury rose in him as he remembered that night.

"THAT GODDAMN SONUVABITCH!"

**TBC**

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**Um, sorry? ;) **


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: HOLY COW! Are you guys serious? Thank you so so so much for all your support! This story is getting a huge response and it's really surprising yet overwhelming. I'm truly in awe of how awesome you all are! Thank you everyone!**

**Okay so, a lot of you had given me guesses about who you thought the "Goddamn sonuvabitch" could be. And only one guess came through from all of you. John. I WILL reveal that it's NOT John. Who is it then? Well, read to find out. ;) **

**Last chapter sadly. I'll be posting an epilogue for the next update to end this story. I'm so sad it's already going to be over. I really enjoyed writing it. The credit for the flashback plot goes to hotshow who has helped out tremendously through this whole story. Without her, this story wouldn't exist. **

**Anywho, ENJOY!**

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Bobby sometimes _did _get pissed off. But for him to yell out what he did...well it kind of took a lot to get Bobby to that level. Being a really experienced hunter, the man had a large control over his displayed emotions. Thus, Sam and Dean nearly jumped out of their skin at Bobby's yell.

"THAT GODDAMN SONUVABITCH!"

Sam and Dean stared at the man who was almost a father to them. Both brothers threw each other wary looks.

Sam plucked up the courage to break the unnatural silence that had fallen in to the room. "Um, Bobby? What's wrong?" he asked hesitantly.

Bobby turned around and yanked his cap off his head. "What's wrong? I'll tell you what's wrong. I could kill that good for nothing idjit. He had no right to touch my possessions," Bobby rambled.

Dean immediately held out a hand. "Whoa Bobby. Slow down there. What happened?" he asked.

Bobby sighed as he sat down and ran a hand through his balding head. "Guess I have a story to add to the list," he said wryly.

* * *

**(Flashback – January 24****th**** 2002.) **

Bobby sat smiling while driving his beat up car back towards Sioux Falls. The rugaru wasn't so hard to spot and surprisingly the hunt had gone really well. He hadn't a scratch on him. Whistling to himself he drove down the interstate.

In a few minutes the engine started sputtering making Bobby frown and glance at the gas meter.

"Balls," he muttered seeing that the tank was almost empty. He glanced out his window looking for a gas station and thanked his lucky stars spotting one not too far ahead. The engine died as soon as he pulled up. He hurried out of the car and inserted the nozzle into his car's gas tank opening and waited till the meter showed full. He then walked inside the convenience store and picked up a few eatables and a bottle of water for the road.

"These and the car on the pump outside," he said as he deposited the merchandise on the cashier's table. The pink haired cashier glanced outside.

"Which car?" she asked eyeing Bobby.

"There's only one car outside," Bobby said, stating the obvious.

The cashier smirked. "Look again Grandpa. There's two," she said.

Frowning, Bobby glanced outside and a small smile lit up as he recognized the car. "Fine. Mines the one on pump two," he said.

After paying for everything he made his way outside and greeted the man who had just exited the car. "Gordon. Long time," he said shaking hands with the man.

Gordon smiled as he turned around at the familiar voice and shook his hand. "Bobby. Didn't expect to see you here," he said.

"You could say that again," smirked Bobby.

"So, you on a hunt?" asked Gordon.

Bobby shook his head. "Actually, I'm on my way from a hunt. Rugaru. Pretty easy one if you ask me," he said.

Gordon nodded. "Me too. Just managed to finish a full nest of vampires snacking on humans at midnight a couple of miles from here. Boy, I've never had this much fun before. Seeing each one of them just drop..." trailed off Gordon engrossed in his memories.

Bobby went to reply when Gordon launched into each and every detail of his hunt. Starting from what made him realize it was vampires to what tactic he applied to take down the nest of 7 vampires singlehandedly. Bobby inwardly cursed himself for engaging in conversation with the hunter. Gordon was a pretty fierce hunter aside from the fact that he was too proud of himself and liked to boast. Then there's the fact that he never gave a second chance. If the thing was a monster, it had to die. In Bobby's opinion Gordon could lay off the arrogance and cruelty.

Bobby sighed outwardly, wanting to bolt from the area. Seeing no other way out, he started talking about the Winchesters knowing full well that Gordon despised that everyone thought the Winchesters were the best hunters on the planet.

"You hear? Sam Winchester got into Stanford University on a full scholarship," Bobby interrupted.

Gordon stiffened and then smiled through his teeth. "Yeah. I heard. Pretty smart kid, huh?"

Bobby took in a deep breath as he smiled. "He sure is. Add that to his hunting skills and the boy's an expert if you don't count his older brother Dean," Bobby said. "And then the father, John is a whole other story," Bobby continued, quite enjoying the looks of jealousy on Gordon's face.

Bobby stretched his muscles. "Anyway, I gotta get going after I hit the bathroom. Have another hunt to get to," saying so, Bobby excused himself as he deposited his supplies into his car and hurried towards the bathroom.

Gordon fumed as he stood outside his car. Bobby dared to mention the Winchesters. The good for nothing Winchesters in his presence. Gordon knew full well that there was no other hunter better than him, but even so, he couldn't help but feel like he was living in the sidelines while the Winchesters reaped the glory.

In the distance, he heard a phone ringing. He glanced towards Bobby's car; the sound seemed to be coming from there. He looked back towards the bathroom and sensing that Bobby would be a while, he sneaked up to the car which to his advantage had the window rolled down. He stuck a hand inside and reached for the phone in the passenger seat. Bringing it up to his eyes he read the caller I.D. and chuckled to himself.

"Sam W.," he read. Deciding to get back at Bobby, he silenced the call. "What the old man doesn't know won't hurt him."

**(End flashback)**

* * *

Bobby took a swig of the beer he'd acquired mid way through narrating the story. He looked back at the brothers. Sam looked relieved while Dean seemed to be boiling in anger.

"So ya see? I'd have picked up. Only thing is, I'm a hundred and ten percent sure that the crazy ass deleted the voicemail after ending the call. Don't ask me how, but I'm sure it was him that did it," Bobby said.

Sam looked toward Bobby with a smile. "Hey, it's okay. Trust me, this is the best news I've gotten so far," Sam said in an exhausted voice.

Dean immediately sensed Sam's fatigue. "Alright Sasquatch, bed time," he ordered.

"But-"

"No. Upstairs now," Dean stated pointing towards the staircase.

Throwing Dean the bitch face and grumbling to himself, Sam trudged up the staircase.

Bobby chuckled lightly as Sam walked out of sight. Dean glanced at the old man. Bobby held his hands up in surrender. "Forgive me for being amused when you sound like a mom," teased Bobby.

Dean couldn't help but chuckle at that. "I know I'm being too clingy. But I don't care. Sam's head was in a pretty dark place," said Dean with a shudder.

Bobby frowned. "What do you mean?"

"I mean that he thought we'd all abandoned him after he'd left for Stanford. He thought we'd cut off ties with him," explained Dean with a hard face.

"Idjit," Bobby muttered, throwing a glance towards the staircase. "So, I guess this proves to him that we still care," Bobby said.

Dean nodded. "Yeah. That's a relief." Dean paused for a few minutes before hesitantly asking, "Hey, um...do you mind if we stay here a couple weeks till I think Sam's okay to hunt? I mean, he'd been pretty bad at the hospital and he still gets exhausted pretty quick and..." Dean trailed off seeing the murderous look in Bobby's eyes.

"What do you two idjits take me for? A motel manager? Of course you can stay. No need asking for it. Now get out of my sight before I change my mind," said Bobby with no heat. Being a friend of a Winchester, the habit seemed to rub off on you. Neither party could indulge in a sentimental moment except Sam. Thus the snapping at one another.

Dean grinned. "Thanks Bobby," he said before hurrying up the staircase.

Bobby shook his head fondly. "Damn idjits."

**TBC**

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**Well? Was is surprising? Did you expect it? Was it good enough? REVIEW and let me know! :D **

**Also, if you want to see anything specific in the epilogue, tell me! :)**


	12. Epilogue

**A/N: I truly apologize for disappearing into the smoke for almost 2 weeks. I've been swamped with studies and tests and then there was the fact that I lost internet access for a week because of heavy rains. It sucked bad. But I did all I could for fanfiction. Got a few things pre-written which I will post as soon as I can. Well, I just want to thank everyone who stuck with me till here. I can't believe the amount of response this fic got. It truly means the world. I can never truly explain what this journey was like. :) It was extraordinary. **

**Anyway, now that we're done with the chick-flick, just sit back and enjoy the ending. :)**

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Bobby smiled to himself as he followed the boys out of his humble abode. Sam leaned against the passenger door as Dean deposited their duffels in the trunk.

"So.." said Bobby awkwardly. In the next minute he had his arms full of 6' 4 inches of Sam.

Sam hugged Bobby and said, "Thanks for everything Bobby."

Bobby felt flustered as Sam let go of him. He cleared his throat. "Shut up you idjit. You're like family. Hell, you are family. No thanks needed," he said.

Dean hesitantly walked over and gave Bobby a one-armed hug. He was never comfortable with 'chick flicks' as he called it. "Even then, thanks a ton," he said.

"Don't mention it. Seriously, don't," Bobby teased.

Sam and Dean walked over to the Impala and slid in. Sam was doing better now. He could barely feel the last few weeks ordeal. Everything was as good as it could be.

Bobby stood waiting and waving until he could no longer see the sleek black machine.

Chuckling and smiling to himself, he made his way into his home. "Idjits."

* * *

Darkness slowly crept up on the small town.

The sun shied away and the moon graced its own presence showering what little light it could offer over the small amount of diners and commercial businesses that slowly opened up for their night shifts. Among these was a small bar which was soon to be the venue of a stand-off.

"One more please," said Gordon as he motioned towards his empty beer glass. He sighed in content as he took a swig. His recent hunt where he single-handedly ganked another full nest of vampires (12 vampires is a lot mind you) had been successful. He felt like no one could beat him. He was the best there was. So obviously, it deserved celebration and hence, the beer. The happiness heightened as he'd heard from a fellow hunter that Sam Winchester had been injured badly. What hurt the Winchesters just made him i.e., Gordon, stronger or that's what Gordon thought anyway. He silently thanked the creature (or person) that had messed with the younger hunter.

"Celebrating are we?" came a deep voice from his right. Gordon startled as he didn't expect anyone to creep up on him. He glanced to his right and frowned slightly. He couldn't identify his companion owing to a hat shadowing his face and a large overcoat concealing his bodice.

"Maybe," replied Gordon, still wary of his companion.

The stranger nodded as he silently motioned for the bartender to fill his glass. "May I ask what?"

Gordon raised his eyebrows in surprise. Throwing caution to the winds he replied, "Um, successful business venture."

The stranger chuckled. "A hunt you mean," he corrected.

Gordon tensed. "How..."

"Hunters have a typical body language. You were easy to spot," said the stranger.

Gordon seemed to relax slightly as the man seemed to be a hunter himself by the way he was talking. "True. Vampires. A whole nest. Killed 'em off single-handedly," boasted the hunter.

"That's good. How many in the nest?" asked the stranger.

"About 11 or 12," replied Gordon.

"I'm impressed," stated the stranger.

Gordon smiled. Deciding to go all for it, he blurted out, "You ever heard of the Winchesters?" he asked, not able to contain the second reason for his celebration.

"Yes. The whole hunter community knows 'em," snorted the stranger.

Gordon scowled slightly but continued, "I heard that Sam Winchester was injured badly. Probably won't be able to hunt as usual. Personally, I'm not a fan of the Winchesters. I just want to thank the lucky bastard who got to mess with the kid," rambled Gordon. As he lifted his glass to take a sip of the beer, he glass crashed to the floor and he felt himself flying off his bar stool and pain coursed through his back as he landed with a large thud onto the floor.

Groaning he glanced up at the man who was now looming in front of him, hat and coat discarded. He felt numb as he recognized the hunter before him. Before he could collect his wits, he was being dragged up by his collar and his face was inches in front of the stranger.

"No one...and I mean no one hurts my kids," snarled John Winchester as he landed a punch squarely on Gordon's nose breaking it on impact.

Gordon howled in pain as he stumbled a few feet away.

"You had no right messing with Bobby's phone that night you shithead," continued John as he wrestled and threw Gordon across the length of the bar. He was oblivious to the screams of the onlookers.

Gordon shook in fear and pain as he recollected was John was talking about. "How..."

"I have ways," smiled John threateningly. He'd talked to Bobby on the phone right after Sam and Dean had revealed their secrets to Bobby. He may not want to be found right now, but he was damn well going to keep an eye on his sons.

"I dug deeper. I found out that it was you who had planned the assault," stated John.

"What are you talking about?" Gordon asked in fear.

"You know very well what I'm talking about. You had Chad use Jessica as bait to get to Sam. Chad is your friend's son. You wanted revenge for the disagreement we'd had a few years back over the rugaru case," snarled John as he kicked Gordon in the mid-riff sending him flying to the ground.

"You. Don't. Touch. My. Boys. Ever. Again," John said, punctuating each word with a blow.

Finally, John got up and wiped a hand over his sweaty brow while glancing at the crippled man in front of him. He stared around to bar to see that the customers had fled, along with the bartender. Good for them.

"If I see you anywhere near my sons again, you will regret it," threatened the father Winchester as he carelessly stepped on Gordon and walked out of the bar.

He may be selfish and possibly ignorant when it came to hunts, but he was still a father. And no matter what was in store for them, he was going to look out for his sons.

**END.**

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**Hope you all liked it. Thank you to everyone for your amazing and truly heartfelt reviews. It truly made me smile every time I read it. Thank you to hotshow who requested this fic. I had an amazing time writing it. I'm speechless. Just...thank you everyone! :D You all mean the world to me :)**


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